Over the last few years, the internet has seen people trying to spread awareness about mental health. Personally, they were all great. Just that you could see multiple posts that contradict each other. After all the confusion (aka teenage), here are somethings I realised:

(1/n) Just because your characteristics check out with some quiz you did on the internet doesn’t mean that you are depressed / have anxiety / have BPD / Bipolar or anything. Get an expert’s opinion. Go see a doc. Which also means, don’t trust me; just think of this as my opinion

(2/n) It’s almost always a spiral that takes you down, rather than a sudden fall. You may or may not be aware of spiralling down the path. The goal is to catch yourself as early as possible in the spiral to prevent further downfall.

(3/n) You need to know that you can come out of this spiral, but if you’ve accidentally gone a little too deep, that’s when you need professional help. A little too deep means - I don’t know how I’ll get out. This threshold varies from person to person.

(4/n) Maybe you can afford to go really deep because you know your way out. Maybe your friend can go further and make it back. Maybe someone else gets lost right after they step in.

(5/n) What you need to know is when to make the call. When to say- I’m done trying to figure this out, I need help.

(6/n) One way to catch an early spiralling onset is to observe patterns. I stop moving from my bed and hate on myself incessantly. I’ve taught my brain to SOS me when I start doing that.

(7/n) Once you’ve caught yourself spiralling, it’s a matter of getting out. Finding the motivation to do what needs to be done. I start off with simple stuff. Check off the easiest task you’ve been putting off. For me it’s mostly calling my family.

(8/n) Once you’ve done that, appreciate yourself. The same concept as hobby building (that I mentioned in an earlier thread) applies here now. I’ll share that at the end of this thread.

(9/n) Next - Self love is not just baths and travel and shopping. It’s not randomly cutting off people. It’s understanding that almost everything in life is a choice. Sometimes the choices might seem hard, sometimes embarrassing, sometimes painful.

(10/n) Your friend might not be all that toxic, but still can drain your energy. When you’re at your you’d love being with them. But that doesn’t mean you’re obliged to be with them when you’re not. Take a time out & then get back. Always let them know that you’ll be doing so.

(11/n) always make decisions based on your current circumstance. Yes, I would’ve totally been okay with competition and pressure a month back but I’m not sure if I am right now. And hence I’m not pushing myself too hard. Current self > any other version of self.

(12/n) Finally, getting out of the spiral is still a spiral that going up. And it’s almost always overwhelming. So till you reach up the spiral, take it one step at a time. Don’t compete with the best version of yourself. Instead just try to be better than what you were yday.

TBH, I started spiralling a few weeks into quarantine, and I’ve managed to take myself out of it. Which is why I thought it’d be nice to share this with y’all.
Also here’s the tweet I promised: https://twitter.com/devikacodes/status/1253242475453415428?s=21 https://twitter.com/devikacodes/status/1253242475453415428